Parachute



Och-31, 1944. FORBES I 2,361,540

PARACHUTE Filed Aug. 31, 1945 :s Sheets-Sheet 1.

INVENTOR. JOHN D -/-'o/?5 s BY- hWw/mf ATTORNEYS Oct. 31, 1944. J. D.FORBES 2, 6

A IPARACHUTE Filed Au 51, 1945 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 6JOHN-D-FORBES.

ATTORNEYS Oct. 31, 1944. J; D. l -oRBEs PARACHUTE- Filed Aug. 31, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Y 32 I8 52 26 34 22 as 24 F/G-9. Fla-m.

INVENTOR- Jo/m 0- FORBES. 74mm AT T ORNEYS U D' V 1 J FICE",

i -john D.Forbes; San Francisco, CaliLj o objector invention is toprovide a p51};- achute which differs in the manner of folding it into acompact bundle from the parachute shown Apartme t aegis; 31, 1943,serial no. 506,711

' a claims (or. 2 1F145) and'connected together;

in my co-pending application, Serial No. 435,761,

filed March 30, 1942. In; the co-pending case I show a parachutecomposed of a plurality of diamond-shaped members, each. being foldablein a particular manner. When the parachute is opened, the cordsconnected tothe periphery 10 of the body member extend to and supportthe object or person carried .by the parachute.

In the present form of the invention, the body member is composed'ofdiamond-shaped portions'connectedtogether and certain ofthe imtersections of the portions have cords attached thereto and these cordsextend to a common collap'sible sleeve or tube that may be manipulatedfor collapsing all of the parachute portions'in a When the body of theparachute is fully-opened it will be in the shape of a hemisphere. Thecords are wound together in a particular way to form the final cable.

ciate portions illustrating how they h roin s F gureflis a schematicviewillustratinghow the cords are wrapped into groups, the groups intostrands and the strands into acable; I,

Figure8 is a viewfshowinghowthe cords areconnected tothe parachute; 1,

Figure 9 is, a vertical setion through or tube that encloses the. cableand cords; and Figure 10 is aside elevation of Figure While I have shownonly the preferred form ormy in is it Should. b nd odlthat predeterminedmanner for folding the parachute into a compact bundle.

The device'not only can be folded intoa compact bundle moreexpeditiously than that shown in my co-pending. application, but theparachute will offer a greater support because the cords are connectedto difierent portions throughout the entire area of the hemisphererather than to only the periphery of the parachute.

The device is simple in construction and is so designed that it willautomatically open when the cords are freed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel fea tures of the device will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanymg drawings forming a partof this applica- =4 tion, in which: I

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of a portion of the parachuteshowing it laid out flat;

Figure 2 is a'diagrammatic top plan view of the parachute as it appearswhen it is in the shape of a hemisphere;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic transverse section taken along the line 3-3of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic transverse sectional view similarto Figure 3but showing the one of the diamond-shaped portions and assovariousichanges' or modifications may be mad'e Withih thescope of; the appendedclaims with out departing from the spiritand scope o f the invention. 7'V [In carrying out my invention I illustrate Figures 1 and 2 'a planview of a parachute indicated generally at A. This parachlit formed froma plurality of diamond-shapeddnrtsfB and it is best to describe one ofthese; unit'sand to show how it is connected to adjacent units beforeexplaining how the parachute can' beopened "or closed. e 7 One of theunits B is shown in detail in Figure 6 and this figure corresponds toFigure 3"of the Patent Ofiice drawings shown in my co-pending"application, Serial Number 436,761. Since "the unit has been disclosedin the co-pending'case, only a brief description need be given. Th'eunit B is formed of a piece of cloth I, and the: edges of the clotharefolded back on themselves as at 2. Eyelets 3 are disposed along thefolded edges and'then the folded back portions enclose rods 4. Thefolded back portions are stitched (not shown) for holding the rodsin'pIaceI The result isa unit B in the sh ape'o'f a diamond with itsfour edges held' in a rigid manner by the rods. If desired; thediamond-shaped unit may be reinforced by tapes 5and 6 that extendalongthe major and minor axes'of the diamond. Figure 6 shows a number ofdiamond-shaped units interconnected in a manner not to be de scribed.-The rods 4 of each diamond have their ends connected together by coilspringsl. "The springs'pass through rings 8 around Which'the ends of thetapes 5 and 6 ar'e'wound. The'ends of .the'tapes 5 and 6 are thenextended beyond the rings and are secured to discs 9. It will be notedthat at the juncture of the vertices of ad'- ,jacent diamond-shapedunits B, the cloth! is cut away to form circular openings ID; The discs9 are centrally disposed in the openings.

' t The adjacent units B are connected. together by lacing N that ispassed through the eyelets the sleeve 3, see Figure 6'. The lacing doesnot bind the edges 4 so that they will abut one another, but leaves aspace or slot 12 between the edges. I have found that air canpassthrough the spaces or slots IZ'and through the openings H] tomaintain the parachute in even flight as it descends through the air.The openings are not large enough to cause the parachute to drop toorapidly but aid in keeping it on an even keel. The coilsprings 1 openthe parachute instantly when the paraQhute i's-ire'edI' ;-Thishasbeenexplained in my co-pending application "above referred to.

trally disposed eyelet l3.

l upset and bearing against a washer '16. A

cord, I! is secured to the eyelet by a clov'e'hitch* or any othersuitable type of; knot. In Figures 1 and 2 I have numbered the points ofintersection of the units B from l8 to 54i n"clusi've.

The cords I! are attached to the even numbered points of intersectionas, indicated by the small circles in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive. I havefound the best practice, in wrapping the cords together to arrangethemfirst in groups of threes The cords extend from spaced pointsove'rithe entire inner surface of the'parachute. j

In Figure 7. I illustrate how the cords. are grouped. The cord leadingfrom the center intersection I8 is in: addition to the cord groupings ofthree ineach. group. I have numbered the cord outerends inFigureflaccording to their position of attachment .to the parachute, andillustrate how thecords ingroups of three. are wound as indicated at C.The. groups of. three cords each are right-hand rope wound-I then taketwo groups C and=wind them into strands indicated at D. -.The two groupsforming a, single strand are, left-hand wound. :;The threerepleted'cable E.

. The cable E is shown in Figures 9 and 10. The free end of the cable isbent around a thimble 57 and passed through the eye. 58 of a. swivelhook F. The cable is thenyeye-splicedto itself sulting'gstrandsD arethen wound-into the comas shown at 59 in Figure 7.

. lapsible along the cable E and cords for a purpose now to bedescribed. .1

From the foregoing description of the various parts of theqdevice, theoperation thereof may be readily understood.

The radial cords H extend to the cable E and form the cable in themanner already disclosed. The cords connect to different portions of theparachute interior. is fullyxclosed, it will assume the compact positionshown at A in Figure 5. A strap H or casing holds the chute in collapsedcondition. The sleeve or tube G is fully extended when the parachute iscollapsed. When the parachute-is to be opened, the strap H is freed fromthe parachute by the parachute release shown in my copending applicationSerial No. 498,134, filed Au gust 10, 1943, or by any other means foraccomplishing this same purpose. e 7

When the parachute The instantthestrap H is freed from the parachute,the springs Twill open all Ofthe diamond -shaped units 3 and cause theparachute.

possible for the parachutist to hold the collar 62 in the position shownin Figure 4 and thus maintain the parachute in half-opened position. Amore effective braking action is obtained when the parachute is heldpartly open. A movement of the collar 62 toward th end 60 will slide thecollar along the cord lengths to permit the cords to spread and theparachute to take the shape of a hemisphere. When the parachute is fullyopened it will appear as illustrated in Figure 3. The. sleeve or tube Gwill; be fully collapsed in this instance."

Any number of concentrically arranged, dia- -mond-shaped sections B mayb added to the parachute to make it as large as desired. The collapsibleknitted tube G surroundin the exed. Also the tube controls the openingof the parachute when the strap H is freed from the folded parachute.The. top of the hemispherical parachute may befiattened so that thcenter ring 'ofildiamond-shaped sections will all'lie. in the sameplane.

I claim} 1. A parachute comprising a flexible body member composed of aplurality of interconnected diamond-shaped portions, said body whenfully expanded being hemispherical in, shape, and a plurality of cordsconnected to certain of the diamond-'shaped portions at points wherethey connect with. adjacent diamond-shaped portions, said cords havingtheir free ends wound intoacable for supporting an object whentheparachute is open. v 2. .A parachute. comprising a flexible body membercomposed of a plurality of interconnected diamond-shaped portions, saidbody when fully expanded being hemi-spherical in shape, and a pluralityof cords connected to certainof the diamond-shaped portions at pointswhere parachute is open, an extensible sleeve enclosing the cableandbeing manually elongated to receive portions of the cords forlimiting the amount of opening of the parachute.

3. A parachute comprising a flexible body member composed of a pluralityof interconnected diamond-shaped portions, spring means placed-at thejunctures of the diamond-shaped portions for yieldingly urging theparachute into a hefni-spherical shape, a plurality of cords connectedto certain of the diamond-shaped portions, at points where they connectwith adjacent diamond-shaped portions, said cords having their free endswound into a cable. and an extensible sleeve enclosing the cable andbeing manually elongated to move onto the cord portions andpartiallycollapse the opened'parachute.

4. A -parachute comprising a flexible body member composed of aplurality of interconnected diamond-shaped portions, spring means placedat the junctures of the diamond-shaped portions for yieldingly urgingthe parachute into a hemi-spherical shape, said diamond-shaped portionsbeing interconnected by tapes connected to the portions and to discsplaced at the junctures, and a plurality of cords connected to certainofthe discs, said cords having their free ends Wound into a cable forsupporting an object when the parachuteis open. I 5. A parachutecomprising a flexible body member composed of a plurality ofinterconnected diamond-shaped portions, spring means placed at thejunctures of the diamond-shaped portions for yieldingly urging theparachute into a hemi-spherical shape, said diamond-shaped portionsbeing interconnected by tapes connected to the portions and to discsplaced at the junctures, and a plurality of cords connected to certainof the discs, said cords having their free ends wound into a cable forsupporting an object when the parachute is open, a collapsible sleevemounted on the cable and being manually extensible to receive portionsof the cords, the cord connections with the discs being such that aforeshortening of the cables will pull the cord connected discs out ofthe hemispherical plane of the parachute to aid in the folding of theparachute.

"along the cords for causing the latter to draw their attached discsinwardly out 'of the hemispherical plane formed by the open parachute,the inward drawing of the certain discs causing the parachute to befolded into a compact bundle.

JOHN D. FORBES.

